The others are eating fine and everything but I read that the parasites can be in her poop, so they are all in my aquarium now.. should I clean everything up or hope for the best ?
Green terror internal parasites ?
- Thread starter JF Sirois
- Start date
This is where having a scope would really help. Do you have anyway to access one? Maybe pick one up? It’s so much easier to just look everyone’s poo over.
You can just wait and see if anyone else shows symptoms or treat them all as a precaution.
I just learned from getting into koi keeping that having a microscope helps so much when it comes to diagnosing problems. Then you don’t need to treat blindly.
You can just wait and see if anyone else shows symptoms or treat them all as a precaution.
I just learned from getting into koi keeping that having a microscope helps so much when it comes to diagnosing problems. Then you don’t need to treat blindly.
I could see if I know someone who has one. Under the microscope it is pretty easy to know what exactly they have ?
It helps a lot. I’m no expert, but getting a good look at what’s in there and taking a picture of it can help when you’re trying to figure out what it is.
I’m currently using one my husband and I got our daughter last Christmas. Not expensive or fancy at all, but has helped a lot.
It has been maybe 2 weeks since I started to treat my gt, I have put her in a plastic tub it is approximately 8 gallons. I treated with Metroplex and prazipro. She hasn't eaten yet .. does that mean it's something else ? Is it because it's too small of a tank? Should I keep treating ?
Being a former microbiologist, I find the idea that there is some generic way to treat "internal parasites" with one magical elixir a bit troublesome. Internal parasites could be protozoans (treated a certain way), they could be bacteria (an antibiotic may be needed, and one specifically designed to work on whether the phage is gram+ or gram-) .
An internal parasite might also be nematode(worm) and require a dewormer. Or even a crustacean that requires a chitin inhibitor to treat it. Each type parasite may require a different medication.
The link Big-G give a very good representation of the large picture and problem, and a microscope could help, but you have you have an idea of what are you looking for? Which is the parasitic one, the ciliate, the rod, the squiggly one? Just to see certain bacteria under a microscope, staining the slide is often needed to make them visible under a scope.
All animals have a large varied population of species that live in their digestive tract (bacteria, nematodes etc,) some are good, some bad.
There is always a certain ratio in the gut, but if a fish is under stress, event good ones can turn bad, and become pathogenic.
And just because a tank has sat "fish-less" for a few months doesn't mean something pathogenic is dead, many pathogens can go dormant for months, and wake up to infect as soon as water is added.
The bacteria that causes columnaris disease has that ability to remain viable in a small layer of dust.
Consider the natural pools in dry and tropical areas, that dry up seasonally, and where life returns with the rains.
Quarantining each new fish for 2 months or more, is the only realistic preventative. It often takes that long for a bacteria or parasite to attain enough numbers to become apparent.
An internal parasite might also be nematode(worm) and require a dewormer. Or even a crustacean that requires a chitin inhibitor to treat it. Each type parasite may require a different medication.
The link Big-G give a very good representation of the large picture and problem, and a microscope could help, but you have you have an idea of what are you looking for? Which is the parasitic one, the ciliate, the rod, the squiggly one? Just to see certain bacteria under a microscope, staining the slide is often needed to make them visible under a scope.
All animals have a large varied population of species that live in their digestive tract (bacteria, nematodes etc,) some are good, some bad.
There is always a certain ratio in the gut, but if a fish is under stress, event good ones can turn bad, and become pathogenic.
And just because a tank has sat "fish-less" for a few months doesn't mean something pathogenic is dead, many pathogens can go dormant for months, and wake up to infect as soon as water is added.
The bacteria that causes columnaris disease has that ability to remain viable in a small layer of dust.
Consider the natural pools in dry and tropical areas, that dry up seasonally, and where life returns with the rains.
Quarantining each new fish for 2 months or more, is the only realistic preventative. It often takes that long for a bacteria or parasite to attain enough numbers to become apparent.
I do not have access to a microscope sadly so I do not really know what she has ! Also there was no new added fish with them for more than 6 months maybe, they were all with me for a long time with no signs of any problem. The tank wasn't used for more than two years the last owner said to me. I don't really know what to do now. Should I keep treating ? What would you suggest? After Metroplex and prazipro what would be the options ? It has been 3 weeks since she didn't eat..
